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Does maternal pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity influence offspring's growth patterns from birth up to 7years? The

Adriëtte J J M Oostvogels1, Michel H P Hof2, Maaike G J Gademan1

  • 1Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Early Human Development
|August 9, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity influence children's growth patterns in weight, height, and BMI. These effects are more pronounced in girls and increase with age, highlighting the importance of a healthy pre-pregnancy weight for optimal child development.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric growth and development
  • Maternal health and child outcomes
  • Public health and epidemiology

Background:

  • Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight is a known risk factor for adverse offspring health outcomes.
  • Understanding the impact of maternal weight status on child growth trajectories is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) growth patterns from birth to age 7 differ based on maternal pre-pregnancy weight categories (normal, overweight, obesity).
  • To investigate potential sex differences in these growth patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective multi-ethnic study (ABCD-study) including 3805 mother-child pairs.
  • Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI categorized into normal (18.5-25 kg/m²), overweight (25-30 kg/m²), and obesity (≥30 kg/m²).
  • Population-specific growth patterns computed using SD-scores for weight, height, and BMI; analyzed with mixed-effects models, accounting for maternal characteristics.

Main Results:

  • Children of overweight mothers showed faster weight and BMI growth (boys and girls) compared to normal-weight mothers' children.
  • Children of obese mothers exhibited faster height growth (girls only), weight, and BMI growth (boys and girls).
  • Growth differences increased with age and were generally more significant in girls.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal overweight and obesity significantly impact offspring's weight, height, and BMI growth trajectories.
  • The observed effects are more pronounced in girls and amplify as children age.
  • Maintaining a healthy maternal weight before pregnancy is essential for promoting optimal offspring growth and development.
Abstract

Keywords:
BMIGrowth patternHeightMaternal obesityMaternal overweightWeight

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